A VPS (Virtual Private Server) offers a sweet spot between a shared and a dedicated server in terms of price, performance, and control. However, finding the right VPS that gives you great value, and features worth your money can be a little confusing in today’s day and age. That is why we have curated this list where we will discuss, some of the best options for VPS hosting services.
What is a VPS Hosting Service?
A virtual private server, or VPS, gives you a virtual space in a physical server to host your websites or applications. It gives you more control over a shared server, with limited people. Plus, you can allocate resources based on your needs beforehand, and use custom environments or software if required. A VPS is cheaper than dedicated servers and doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge.
Best VPS Hosting Services to Control Your Server
Now that you have a general idea of how a virtual hosting service works, let us look at the list we have prepared for you. Since we couldn’t particularly test these services, we have created this list based on the popularity, pricing of the plans, and the features they offer. That said, let’s find out which is the best VPS hosting service to get.
1. Hostinger – Best Overall VPS Hosting Service
Hostinger is a pretty well known VPS service that gives you affordable starting plans with a good level of control over your environment. It gives you full root access, so you can make changes to your part of the virtual server as you see fit. It does not promise unlimited bandwidth and uses its own control panel which is easy to use.
Furthermore, it offers regular weekly backups in case anything goes wrong. The service also gives you decent customer service with their support team. The base plan offers 100 GB of storage, which is a big plus for many people. However, the renewal cost is more than double the initial base price, so either you’ll have to get a yearly plan or you will pay quite a lot later down the line.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Affordable base plans | Plan renewal price is steep |
| Good customer support | |
| Full control over your environment | |
| Automatic weekly backups |
Pricing: Plan starts at $2.99/ per month and will be $7.99/ month for renewal.
2. Ionos – Best Affordable VPS Hosting Service
Ionos is one of the best options to go with if you are looking for a relatively cheap VPS hosting service for your small or up-and-coming business. It gives you many benefits like an SSL certificate, root access for your virtual server, 24/7 customer support, bandwidth of 400 Mbps, and fast SSD storage.
On the other hand, the starting plan only gives you a meager 10 GB of storage and limited resources. The service also offers a bunch of necessary add-ons that should have been included in the base plan to begin with. It also uses its proprietary panel like Hostinger which is easy to use but if you want CPanel then you’ll need to pay more.
Pros Cons Linux and Windows based servers Necessary tools need to be purchased as add-ons Decent Bandwidth speed Limited storage and resources in starting plan 24/7 customer support Relatively cheap starting plans
Pricing: Plan starts at $2/ month
3. HostWinds
HostWinds is a good option for those who are not well-versed in the technical aspects of running a website. This VPS hosting service offers both managed and unmanaged plans. The managed plan will give you the technical support you need to manage or improve your website, while the unmanaged plan leaves it all in your hands to look after.
They also promise almost no downtime and have a 24/7 customer support team in case you run into any issues. It also offers CPanel by default, so you won’t need to pay an extra for its add-on. You can also choose between hosting a Windows or a Linus server from the get-go. However, not every plan includes an option for a Windows server.
Pros Cons Comes with CPanel Refund window is quite small Offers both managed and unmanaged plans Not every plan includes a Windows server option Provides options of both Windows and Linux servers Managed plans could be cheaper Promises practically no downtime
Pricing: Plan starts at $5.24/ month
4. GoDaddy – Best for Hosting Online Stores
GoDaddy is typically known to be the best for buying domain names, but you may be surprised to know that it also features web hosting and VPS services as well. Though its base plan might not sound attractive at first, the price becomes more reasonable if you opt for a 3-year plan at once. Then it will offer you more value than some other options that we have mentioned in this list.
Its robust security features are especially attractive if you plan on hosting your online store. It comes with an SSL certificate, around-the-clock monitoring, and weekly backups. However, it has a bunch of hidden costs, like you will have to pay more to get cPanel or Plesk support. Upgrading security features will also cost you some extra money.
Pros Cons Affordable long-term plans Needs you to buy long term contract Robust security features No cloud hosting service available Includes automatic backups Website builder software included
Pricing: Plan starts at $8.99/month and $323.64 for 3 years
5. DreamHost – Best User Friendly VPS Hosting Service
DreamHost stands out for its user-friendly approach to VPS hosting service. Their custom control panel simplifies server management, even for those who aren’t super tech-savvy. Plus the service also includes managed plans as well. This is further enhanced by their responsive live chat and ticketing support, though it might lack 24/7 phone access for some users.
Performance is also top-notch, thanks to their use of superfast SSD storage and free SSL certificates for secure connections. The highlight, however, is their 97-day money-back guarantee, which means that you can thoroughly test out the service before committing to it. However, like GoDaddy, you will have to go with long-term plans to get affordable pricing.
Pros Cons Includes managed VPS plans Monthly plans are quite expensive Comes with SSL certificates for security Generous 97-day money trial period
Pricing: Plan starts at $10/ month
6. HostPapa
HostPapa offers a lot of flexibility for your growing businesses if your needs outgrow your current plan over time. It also offers 24/7 customer support in case you run into queries. However, that scenario is less likely to happen with HostPapa as it gives you a detailed Q&A section to help you choose the right plan.
The base or the Mercury plan comes with 60 GB SSD storage, 99.99% uptime, multiple domain hosting, and root-level access for your private server. As I mentioned, you can scale resources depending on your needs right from your dashboard. However, the pricing is way higher than the industry standard.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Faster SSD Storage type | Pricing is way more than other services |
| Lets you host multiple domains | |
| Root level access for your virtual server | |
| Detailed Q&A section for users |
Pricing: The Mercury plan starts at $20/ month
7. A2 Hosting – VPS Hosting Service with Best Storage
A2 Hosting is a great choice for those comfortable managing their server environment. It offers a compelling package for budget-conscious users. Their plans start at competitively low prices and come loaded with features, like SSD storage, free site migration, an SSL certificate, and Cloudflare CDN for enhanced performance and security.
It also gives you root-level access. cPanel controls and a decent 150 GB of NVMe SSD storage in the base plan. There is also a managed option that you can go with, but it costs significantly more than the unmanaged option. These prices will change to normal pricing upon renewal.
Pros Cons Fairly cheap starting plan Managed plans are pretty steep Gives abundant 150 GB of storage Plan price changes significantly upon renewal Includes cPanel controls for free in managed plans Good security features
Pricing: Plan Starts at $2.99/ month
8. HostGator
HostGator’s VPS hosting gives all the necessary tools you might need at a relatively inexpensive price. Even lower than some of the budget options in this list. However, the resources that you receive in exchange are limited. The 10 GB of storage is pretty low, to begin with. Besides that, it boasts excellent 24/7 customer support, ensuring you have help whenever needed.
It also includes unmetered bandwidth, WordPress pre-installed, and malware scanning. However, the additional costs that you might have to pay make the introductory price less lucrative. Like cPanel comes at an extra monthly expense. HostGator is a good option if you are looking for the best low-cost VPS hosting but do consider other servers as well.
Pros Cons Free domain for the first year Does not have Windows server in all plans Malware protection Renewals are expensive Extremely low introductory price unmetered bandwidth
Pricing: Base or Hatchling Plan starts at $2.64/ month
9. DigitalOcean – Best VPS Hosting Service for Customization
If you are working on a project with specific needs, or want a customizable experience then DigitalOcean should be your pick. This VPS hosting service lets you choose what resources you want and then an environment that is easy to use. You can tweak every minor detail that there is, even what type of storage or how much CPU power you want.
DigitalOcean has a separate fan base of its own, which is why if you ever find yourself in trouble, then you can visit any of its forums to learn about the solution. But that also plays into its con as there isn’t much when it comes to customer support like other services in this list. So if you are stuck in a situation with this VPS, then you’re likely to have to scour the threads. That said, its customizations still make it worth picking up if you are not afraid to figure out things yourself.
Pros Cons Tons of customization options Not much for customer support Simple user interface Large community related to the service
Pricing: Base or Droplets Plan starts at $4/ month
10. InMotion Hosting – VPS Hosting Service with Best Customer Support
From minimal customer support to maximum, InMotion offers one of the best customer support in the business. You get around-the-clock help, whether you have a small issue, or need help setting up your environment. InMotion will help you with everything. They will even walk you through the process when migrating from one hosting service to InMotion while making sure you don’t lose the data in the process.
To further protect your data, they offer backups too. Their UI is pretty intuitive from the looks, and they include SSDs to ensure that your site runs fast without slouching to a halt. But their data centers are only available in limited regions which can be an issue for some using the service outside of the United States.
Pros Cons Excellent customer support Limited data centers Offers data backup Reasonable monthly pricing Resources are scalable
Pricing: Base or Hatchling Plan starts at $2.29/ month
With that, we come to the end of our list of the best VPS hosting services. When it comes to VPS, you can pick whichever one favors your pocket and requirements. Going with the right option is essential to ensure that you face the least issues, and don’t run out of resources for your website. In case you have any queries related to this article then let us know in the comments below.
